Some years ago, when I was Director of Development for Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, we had a sports medicine division. I discovered then the prevalence of serious foot injuries and concussions from playing on artificial turf. Even the "new and improved" versions of turf are simply harder than grass. Toes, ankles and heads give way before the surface does. To make it more lethal, common abrasions carry a high risk of staph infections. Plus, artificial turf requires periodic disinfecting, since it breeds nasty germs more readily than grass. Just what our young athletes need - more chemicals and more injuries!
The real advantage from a "Superintendent Fred Sanderson perspective" is economic. With less upkeep requiring fewer gardening maintenance workers, it's a savings in manpower and benefits. Fewer jobs. What a great idea for our unemployed.
Then there is his argument that the new turf would benefit the community by providing more recreational grounds. When was the last time we took our families in search of an Astroturf picnic? Besides, it's verboten for outsiders to use school property. Does the superintendent want to open the playing fields to partying predators?
Every day I drive past Sope Creek Elementary, with its decades-old trailers. Other schools in the county are equally trailer bound. It makes me wonder who's "in bed" with the artificial turf contractors.
Cara Saylor Polk
East Cobb
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Do you know how difficult it is to get rid of old synthetic tires. They won't allow you to put them legally into a landfill, or garbage dump. But it's wunnerful that they've figured out a way to dispose of them. They now grind them up into a fine powder and use the powder to coat the blades of grass in the "NEW & IMPROVED" sysntetic turf to make it "softer", where it can be injested into the lungs of the children who play on it. I guess that's OK because the problems won't show up intil they're in their 50s and have trouble breathing. Wunnerful! Wunnerful! Wunnerful!
Also have any of you complainers ever talked to the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Citizen Oversight Committee for Cobb County with your issues prior to the awarding bid? Just curious!
Her argument concerning chemicals is moot - natural turf fields require extensive fertilization and weed killers to maintain. Most of the formulas used to disinfect artificial turf are made from natural enzymes and are approved by the EPA.
Lastly, the trailer situation she cites is already scheduled to be taken care of. Ms. Polk's bias against the artificial turf outweighs her grasp of the facts.